Workshop for young people teaches crafts of filmmaking

E.J. Higginbotham (right), a producer with Mitchell, talks about lighting equipment with Gray Robinson, a Fayetteville High freshman, on Saturday during the Young Filmmakers Workshop Open House presented by Mitchell at the Bentonville Public Library. The hands-on event gave aspiring young filmmakers the chance to learn about the process of making films, television and promotional videos from the professionals at Mitchell.
E.J. Higginbotham (right), a producer with Mitchell, talks about lighting equipment with Gray Robinson, a Fayetteville High freshman, on Saturday during the Young Filmmakers Workshop Open House presented by Mitchell at the Bentonville Public Library. The hands-on event gave aspiring young filmmakers the chance to learn about the process of making films, television and promotional videos from the professionals at Mitchell.

BENTONVILLE -- When Maddie and Kaylee Krug picked up their mom's video camera, their love for film was born.

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NWA Democrat-Gazette

Maddie Krug, 8, of Bentonville works on drawing a storyboard from a script on Saturday during the Young Filmmakers Workshop Open House presented by Mitchell at the Bentonville Public Library.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Maddie Krug, 8, of Bentonville works on drawing a storyboard from a script on Saturday during the Young Filmmakers Workshop Open House presented by Mitchell at the Bentonville Public Library.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Floyd Norman talks about his career as an animator at Disney during the Bentonville Public Library’s Free Comic Book Day panel Saturday in conjunction with the Bentonville Film Festival. In 1956, Norman became the first African-American animator at Disney and went on to build a long resume of work. He is the subject of the Bentonville Film Festival entry Floyd Norman: An Animated Life.

photo

NWA Democrat-Gazette

Arthi Krishna of Bentonville takes a turn experiencing what it’s like in front of the lights and camera on Saturday during the Young Filmmakers Workshop Open House presented by Mitchell at the Bentonville Public Library.

Equipped with a notepad and pen, the pair joined dozens of other budding artists Saturday at the Bentonville Film Festival's Young Filmmakers Workshop.

A League of their Own

Tickets are still available to today’s second annual A League of Their Own reunion baseball game at Arvest Ballpark, 3000 S. 56th St., Springdale.

Gates open at noon and the first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased from the Northwest Arkansas Naturals box office or online by going to bentonvillefilmfest….

Source: Bentonville Film Festival

The event, presented by Mitchell Communications Group at the Bentonville Public Library, offered hands-on experience in pre-production, storyboarding, editing, animation and photography, with high-grade equipment and instruction from professional filmmakers.

Maddie, 8, and Kaylee, 10, have stuck to making home movies and "comedy action" videos, but said they hope to launch a YouTube channel. Saturday's workshop introduced both girls to the technical aspects of filmmaking.

"I like to draw, use my hands and make videos," said Maddie, who said she learned Saturday that "you could spend almost half of your day editing."

The event was aimed at people aged 14 to 21, but Jameson Sheppard, creative director at Mitchell Communications Group, noted that filmmaking doesn't have any age restrictions.

"We want to create a comfortable environment. Anyone is capable of doing this, and we're here to help give them the experience," Sheppard said. "We want to encourage that next generation of filmmakers."

Sheppard said the Bentonville Film Festival -- which highlights women and minority groups in filmmaking -- mirrors his agency's mission.

"We're aligned closely with what the festival is all about," he said. "We're committed to inclusion and diversity."

Allyson McGuire, art director at Mitchell, said the workshop not only exposed children to the creative process of filmmaking, but it also gave women in the film industry an opportunity to speak to and encourage young girls.

Such face-to-face interaction is what makes the Bentonville Film Festival unique, said Trevor Drinkwater, the festival's co-founder.

"This is one of the only film festivals in the world that allows people to drive in and be part of it," he said. "We've always wanted this to be a family-friendly event. We were just so spread out last year it was difficult."

Drinkwater said that many of the family events held throughout the six-day festival were free or low-cost to allow more people to enjoy them. Events included a free Friday night showing of the original Ghostbusters and Saturday's Free Comic Book Day, held in partnership with Children's Book Week.

Saturday's filmmaking workshop was a "definite hit," said Ashley Krug, Maddie and Kaylee's mom.

Krug and her family attended last year's inaugural festival but said they "really enjoyed" this year's event thanks to organizers making it more interactive.

Krug said the changes allowed young girls like hers to get involved with the festival and "that's really encouraging."

Metro on 05/08/2016

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